Women in the Constituent Assembly Debates; And Other Stories
This week we bring to you two articles on the occasion of woman's day; tell you what's happening at the book and writers club; tell you about our interview with an author; and, talk about books.
Women in Constituent Assembly: The Forgotten Grit of Begum Aizaz Rasul
If you look at the history of Constituent Assembly Debates with a magnifier, you will find fifteen women loudly and silently registering themselves at the moment and the making of the Indian Constitution. Their voice and their names in the Constituent Assembly Debates, mark their journey from suffering to suffrage.
Lawctopus and Academike bring to you a Women’s Day Special series.
We are revisiting passages and excerpts from the Constituent Assembly Debates voiced by seven of the fifteen women who were part of the Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD).
The process of writing the Constitution was also the moment to define how the people of new India were going to place themselves within it.
When looking high and low for the women among the Constituent Assembly Debates, you will have to look really closely to find them. The debates and the Assembly, both saturated with upper-caste men, in the moment of their making were trying to expand their bounds of inclusivity while also shrinking it.
Till today, not much has changed. Seventy-one years after the promulgation of the Constitution, we have only 78 women out of 543 members in the Lok Sabha. This is also the highest that India has had since independence.
It took seventy-three years since December 9, 1948, from the first time when the Constituent Assembly met to now, for this number to change from eighteen to seventy-eight.
Let that sink in while we celebrate Women’s Day.
Read the first article here.
Discussing Everything Sci-Fi (And Books)| Tete-a-tete with TG Shenoy @ Lawctoups Law School Book Club| March 15| Register Today
At Lawctopus Law School Book Club, we are on our way to finish the second book. Talk about reading goals!
This month, we are reading ‘The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress’ by Robert Heinlein. We have a very special guest to discuss all things sci-fi with.
Presenting to you, TG Shenoy.
TG Shenoy is an SF/F enthusiast, columnist & critic. He is the writer of India’s longest-running weekly SF column New Worlds Weekly for FactorDaily and the SpecFix column for Bangalore Mirror. Elsewhere, he is an advertising & marketing professional and currently a Consulting Partner with Celsius100 Consulting.
You can read his columns here.
Register here for the session.
Sarojini Naidu: A Poetess in the Constituent Assembly
I shall now request Bulbul-i-Hind, the Nightingale of India to address usnot in prose, but in poetry.
-Dr. Sachidananda Sinha inviting Smt. Sarojini Naidu to speak on the occasion of the election of Dr. Rajendra Prasad as permanent Chairman of Assembly
The whole Assembly cheered with joy as Dr. Sarojini Naidu started her speech with these lines of a Kashmiri poet,
Bulbul ko Gul Mubarak,
Gul ko Chaman Mubarak,
RangeenTabiaton ko Range Sukhan Mubarak.
Read the rest of the article here.
Naan Bread and Chai Latte: In Conversation with Sushruti Tripathi on Publishing a Book, Practising Law Abroad, and Law and Art
Recently we interviewed author and lawyer, Sushruti Tripathi on her new book, ‘Naan Bread and Chai Latte’.
Naan Bread and Chai Latte is a collection of poems (interwoven with prose). It covers her experience of working at Herbert Smith Freehills, London (while missing home) and the time after that. It asks questions on identity, the meaning of home, chasing dreams, love, loss, and life. It is self-published along with Notion Press.
Listen to our conversation, where we discuss:
The idea behind the book and the process of publishing it.
Tips for writers wanting to self-publish.
Life at HSF, London.
The intersection of law and art.
(And a poetry performance by Sushruti!)
Last Day to Apply for the Writers Club
Remember Lawctopus Writers Club?
This might help.
Well, it’s the last day to apply. Hurry!
Visit the link here.
Books Corner
Sixteen Stormy Days: The Story of the First Amendment of the Constitution of India by Tripurdaman Singh
Drawing on parliamentary debates, press reports, judicial pronouncements, official correspondence and existing scholarship, Sixteen Stormy Days challenges conventional wisdom on iconic figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel and Shyama Prasad Mookerji, and lays bare the vast gulf between the liberal promise of India's Constitution and the authoritarian impulses of her first government.
Read a review of the book here.
Quotes Corner
All sides in a lawsuit want to hide at least some of the truth.
Alam M. Dershowitz, Professor, Harvard Law School.
Write To Us
Send us an email at umang.poddar@lawctopus.com with an idea/pitch you want to write about.
We are looking for interesting stories on law, book reviews, poem/fiction works, law school stories, and short academic pieces.
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